Why Buffalo Grove believes TIF district will transform Dundee Road corridor
Buffalo Grove is starting to see the impact of using tax increment financing funds to redevelop the Town Center shopping center into $150 million mixed-use project called The Clove.
Now the village is ready to deploy the same economic development tool to transform its Dundee Road corridor.
The village board on Monday passed three ordinances to establish the Dundee Road TIF District.
A TIF district works by freezing property taxes paid to local governments within the area at their current level for the next 23 years. Taxes collected above that level will go to a special fund controlled by the village to pay for public and private improvements.
Buffalo Grove officials believe the tool will spur long-stalled development within the district, which encompasses about 107 acres surrounding the intersection of Dundee and Arlington Heights roads.
One project likely to benefit is Shorewood Development Group's plan to redevelop the 16-acre site of a former Rohrman auto dealership with a new Tesla sales and service center, apartments and retail space.
Besides the Rohrman site, the district will include the Strathmore Square and Plaza Verde shopping centers, Bison Park and Buffalo Grove High School. It qualifies as a "conservation area," in danger of becoming blighted, according to a feasibility study by SB Friedman Development Advisors.
"These conditions hinder the potential to redevelop the proposed RPA and capitalize on its unique attributes," Buffalo Grove Community Development Director Nicole Woods said.
As much as $75 million in TIF funds could be used for public works improvements and building rehabilitation, among other expenses.
"Some of these funds could actually be used to benefit Buffalo Grove High School," village Trustee David Weidenfeld said Monday.